They walk among us. Yeah, aliens, but I was thinking more along the lines of circuit bending polymath musicians. Wellins is co-leader of the Strategy of Lakes (SOL) series. The monthly program showcases a regional artist for an hour performance followed by a half hour Q and A. Wellins takes the reins for the June session. I enter the basement with Matt already glitching away. He sat on the small stage with his rig, multiple boxes with no less than 60 patch cords strewn like spaghetti. Metallic bleeps were augmented with static and noise, sometimes shrill, sometimes a robotic heart beat. The crowd of twenty brave souls dug in for the assault. He looked like he was playing a combination of Operation and Battleship. Things were literally humming along when Wellins abruptly stopped. Unhappy with the sound, he tried to blame it on some brownout in the basement. While this library only draws enough juice to power Clifford the Big Red Dog and the occasional microfiche, the crowd was having none of Matt’s bailout. As if any of us knew “how” it was supposed to sound. David, the other co-leader of SOL, explains that stopping short would be breach of contract with the library. It is at this point, that some kid in the audience pulls some kind of transducer from his bag, willing to add it to the cause. Matt’s eyes widened, but then thought some spot welding might be needed. “Open flames have got to be a breach of contract” I chortle from my chair. Matt soldiers on and plays for 40 minutes before sheepishly coming to a stop. He says he has some video and will read a short piece to finish his time. Setting up his computer to project the video on the library wall, we are treated to a hypnotic möbius of abstract images that ebb and swell. The oddly comforting lysergic tangle of ribbon candy was viewed in silence. Matt then turns to his computer to read a short,I’m assuming autobiographical, essay. Tales of fringe festivals, odd performance spaces, were hysterically described by Matt. The essay was dotted with the refrains of being happy, or unhappy, with the sound. He performed in a claw foot bathtub and was “happy with the sound”. A friend tried to record a cucumber and yogurt salad, and he was “unhappy with the sound”. I came to the last SOL installment and I will return when able. These performances are a fascinating view of outsider art.
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